One Visit More
by musings-of-an-introvert
Summary: The 11th Doctor makes one final unexpected visit to see an old friend.


11 and little Rose

The Doctor waltzed around the TARDIS console pulling levers and pushing buttons. "Well old girl, where should we go this time?" The Doctor asked. He started humming a little tune as he straightened his bow tie. The TARDIS hummed and jerked forward suddenly, causing the Doctor to go sprawling across the floor. The Doctor sprang up and started pulling more levers, "What have you done this time?" he asked. He dashed around the console as the TARDIS jerked forward again. The Doctor grabbed onto the console just in time and managed to keep his balance. He scowled and smacked the console, "Oi! Why don't you just behave?" The TARDIS responded by racing through the time vortex even faster, spinning out of control and landing somewhere with a thud. The Doctor ended up on the ground again and he stood up, dizzy from the fall. "Sometimes I wonder who's really in charge," he mumbled under his breath as he stumbled back to the console. The TARDIS made a loud whirring noise, "Yeah, yeah of course you are dear," he muttered. The whirring stopped and the Doctor closed his eyes and put his hands against his head, trying to stop the world from spinning. After a moment he opened his eyes and straightened his bow tie, "That's better," the Doctor sighed checking the scanner to see where the TARDIS had brought him. "Earth, London, 1995. Why have you brought me here?" he asked slightly confused.

The Doctor walked to the door and peeked outside, squinting against the bright sunlight. The Doctor exhaled sharply as he took in the familiar surroundings from long ago. The Doctor slammed the door and dashed back to the console, shaking his head in disbelief. "Nope. Not here, please anywhere but here," the Doctor started pulling levers and typing something into the TARDIS console, trying to get the TARDIS to dematerialize.

The TARDIS began powering down, "No, no, no! Stop it now!" The engine shut down and the TARDIS got very dark. The Doctor smacked the console again and stormed outside, muttering about how he never should have chosen that TARDIS. He closed the door behind him and held his hand to shield his eyes from the bright sun, looking at the all too familiar street. He tensed as he noticed a little girl with short blond hair across the street from him sitting on the steps leading to her house. She had a notebook on her lap and frowned as she looked at it. The girl started to write something then shook her head and erased it furiously. She was obviously frustrated with whatever she was working on.

The Doctor drew in a shaky breath as he watched her and decided to cross the street, planning to walk past her house and act like he had somewhere to go. He started walking, but once he passed the steps the little girl was sitting on he slowed down and looked at her, smiling as he thought of the beautiful young woman she would become. The girl glanced up and looked critically at him for a moment. She looked back at her notebook and the Doctor continued walking, looking away from her to his supposed destination.

"My mummy told me not to talk to strangers but do you know what 6x4 is?" The little girl called out. The Doctor spun around and hesitated, he hadn't expected to talk to her. He looked at her sweet face and started walking back to her.

"24," the Doctor replied.

"Thank you. My mummy would help me but she's very busy right now," the little girl said with a sigh, shoulders slumping forward as she rested her elbows on her knees. "She's always busy," the little girl mumbled to herself. The Doctor overheard and softened his gaze as he realized how lonely she was.

"I don't mind, is there anything else you need help with?" The Doctor asked without thinking, wincing as he realized what he just said. He resisted the urge to smack himself for getting involved. The little girl brightened instantly.

"Oh yes please! Multiplication is hard. I don't understand it very well at all and my homework has to be turned in tomorrow." The girl smiled at him and scooted over, making a place on the step she was sitting on for the Doctor to sit next to her. He sat down and turned to look at her.

"What's your name?" he asked, knowing full well who she was.

"I'm Rose," the girl replied, pointing to herself, "Who are you?"

"Mr. Smith" he answered quickly, avoiding his usual response. "How old are you Rose?" the Doctor smiled as he said her name, it had been many years since he had last spoken it.

"I'm 8 years old," Rose said proudly.

"Wow you're such a big girl!" the Doctor said, trying to hide a grin. Rose smiled shyly and the Doctor looked down at her notebook. "What do you need help with?"

The Doctor and Rose worked for several hours until the sun started to set. He explained all about multiplication, often getting distracted and talking with her about other things. Even though Rose was too young to understand most of what he was telling her, the Doctor gave her advice about life and talked with her about anything she wanted to talk about. He tried to take full advantage of this rare moment to enjoy being around Rose, he knew this opportunity would probably never come again.

"I better get back inside," Rose said after a while, glancing at the door, "My mum will be wondering what I'm doing."

"Ok Rose, I'm glad I was able to help. You should never struggle with multiplication again." The Doctor said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He stood, His hearts started breaking as he realized he would have to say goodbye to Rose again, this time for good.

"Will I ever see you again, Mr. Smith?" Rose asked with a look of innocent hopefulness only a child can possess. The Doctor froze as his mind began racing, a thousand memories flooded into his mind, memories he had tried so hard to forget. The Doctor gave a halfhearted smile and tried to swallow the massive lump in his throat.

"I'm sure you'll see me again Rose Tyler," He managed to say after a moment. Rose looked startled for a moment as she didn't remember telling him her last name. She smiled, her eyes displaying the same kindness he remembered when he traveled with her so long ago. "You're a special girl. You're going to be brilliant when you get older." The Doctor's voice cracked slightly, and he quickly cleared his throat and pretended to cough to cover up his emotion.

Before he knew it, Rose had wrapped her little arms around him in a big hug. The Doctor instantly dropped to his knees and hugged her back. He kissed her forehead gently and closed his eyes momentarily before he slowly pulled away, wringing his hands together to hide the fact that they were trembling uncontrollably. Rose ran up the stairs and opened the door, turning looking back at him and wave one last time before entering the house and shutting the door behind her.

The Doctor stood staring at the door with unseeing eyes. For the first time in years he allowed his mind to wander back to the bittersweet memories from when Rose was his companion. He had tried so hard to forget the girl who had changed his life for the better. The Doctor dropped his head and slowly meandered back to the TARDIS, still wringing his hands together. He made his way back across the street and into the TARDIS, allowing himself one final glance at the old house before shutting the door behind him. The TARDIS engines turned back on and surrounded the Doctor with mechanical whirring, a familiar sound that always comforted him.

The Doctor sighed and began the process of dematerializing the TARDIS. He stopped for a moment and glanced around the ship, the place that had been his home for almost a thousand years. The Doctor smiled sadly, he didn't know how much more heartbreak he could handle. Nevertheless, the Doctor realized how lucky he was to have had the time he had with his companions. "Thank you," he whispered, placing a gentle hand on the console. The TARDIS was always looking out for her Doctor, taking him where he needed to go whether he wanted to or not. The TARDIS hummed louder in reply and began dematerializing, carrying her lonely traveler on another adventure through space and time.


End file.
